- Ullage (‘ull-idge’)
- The small pocket of air in the bottle between the top of the wine and the cork.
- Umami
- A ‘fifth taste’ (translated it means ‘deliciousness’) which represents the savoury taste of the amino acid L-glutamate. Discovered by the Japanese more than 1,200 years ago, it is a relatively new concept to Western palates and is present in soy sauce, mushrooms, consommés, cured meats and dried shrimp. This taste tends to bring out tannins or the oaky character in wines.
- Unctuous
- A term used to refer to a rich, lush, concentrated and viscous texture and flavour in wine.
- Unoaked or unwooded
- A term used to refer to wines that have been matured without contact with wood or oak (such as ageing in oak barrels).